Rolls-Royce has every reason to act pompous about their cars. The Phantom, their current flagship, has been on the market since 2003, and just this year, has been restyled as the Series II, which includes a large number of under-the-skin changes and a new front fascia. While at Pebble Beach, Nick and I had just enough time to review this classy chariot, but not enough time to take turns driving it. As a result, this review will concern what the big Phantom II is like from the driver’s point of view. Continue reading 2013 Rolls-Royce Phantom II, The Driver’s Review (Grade: B+)→
It’s not often that I see a Rolls-Royce Silver Spur in a color as noticeable as this one. Most of them are muted grays, blues, or black, or a nice off-white. Not this one, though. This rather rare Mulliner Park Ward model is a crisp Carmine Red with a gorgeous magnolia white interior featuring offset piping. I spoke to the owners, who had on display their red daily driver, a St. James Red Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed. Red chairs, red Bentley, red Rolls, red shirts, red shorts. I’m not sure what their favorite color was, but I’m sure it’s not British Racing Green. Among the few Spurs I have seen in my years, this Silver Spur V looked fantastic and the red paint shined brightly in the blue, sun-kissed Florida sky. With blinding chrome, classic whitewall tires, and gorgeous solid wood trim on the inside, this Spur looks ready for the spotlight. Enjoy the photos. Continue reading Rolls-Royce Silver Spur IV Mulliner Park Ward at Festivals of Speed Amelia Island, 2014→
Purple has never looked this intimidating before. This 1959 Corvette, in its purple and white paint job and black interior, was a mainstay in the SCCA-B Production racing class during the late Fifties and early Sixties. With mechanical fuel injection and a 283 sitting under the hood, this racer won all but one of the events it was entered in 1959. Nickey Chevrolet, a performance mainstay of the time, fitted the Corvette with heavy-duty racing parts such as a larger fuel tank, safety chains, and a roll bar, along with a smaller windshield. However, the rest of the car is as it was out of the factory, with factory stock heavy-duty suspension and the (by the end of that very season) race-proven Rochester fuel injection. It shined brightly amongst its ‘Vette companions at Amelia Island, with the purple paint job being about as subtle as a smashed grape on a white kitchen floor. Enjoy the photos. Continue reading Purple People Eater 1959 Corvette at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, 2014→
Few cars can match the romance, beauty, or allure of the Ferrari Daytona. I have seen a select few of these over the years and this wasn’t the only one in the area that weekend last month at Amelia Island, but it was the first car that I found myself actually chasing down all weekend. The Daytona came rumbling out of the parking garage while Nick was busy driving the Viper, so I had nothing else to do but watch the streets for interesting cars. I’d say it was worth me breathing like a pack-a-day smoker to get some pictures of this classic V12 coupe. It was a balmy 49 degrees while I was gaping at the Daytona, so the engine was putting out smoke and making everything smell nice and old. The yellow color especially set this car off from the gray skies and the gray backdrops of the parking lots and the Ritz Carlton. There’s no reason not to want a car as pretty as this in any weather, anywhere. Enjoy the photos. Continue reading Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona at Amelia Island→
Here’s some news for you. At one point Israel had a short stint building cars. No, not tanks or army Jeeps. They had a little sports car they could call their very own. This car, shown here at the Scarsdale Concours last fall, is called the Sabra. This is a 1967 model. The Sabra was named because the colloquial meaning of the phrase in Hebrew is “born in Israel” and the cactus logo is known as the “sabra”. Israel manufactured another car before this known as the Sussita–Yitzhak Shubinksy requested Reliant Auto produce a small sports car (yes, the same Reliant Auto that produced the hilariously incompetent Reliant Robin and Reliant Regal), which they did in a scant 9 months’ time. Unfortunately, due to the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War in 1967, production was cut short. A total of just 171 were made during its life, and a scant 41 made it to the United States. The owner was gracious enough to show it at the Scarsdale Concours this past fall. While it isn’t the prettiest car in the world (far from it), it is certainly unique and drew a solid crowd of its own that afternoon. Enjoy the pictures. Continue reading 1967 Sabra at the 2013 Scarsdale Concours→
At the same auction where the Hudsons were sold, this very clean 1969 Chevrolet Nova SS396 eagerly awaited a new buyer. It looked smart and professionally restored, with a 396ci V8, manual transmission, gorgeous black interior, and a black vinyl roof, topped off with redline tires and Rally wheels. Unfortunately, this Nova didn’t sell at the auction and at this time I am still unaware if the car has changed hands. That said, this is one of the straightest, cleanest late-Sixties Novas I have seen in a very long period of time. Enjoy the photos. Continue reading Chevrolet Nova SS-396 at the Hollywood Car Auction, Amelia Island→
While I was waiting to sign up to drive a Porsche, and while Nick was busy driving the bewitching new SRT Viper, I spent most of my brisk Florida morning at Amelia Island chasing after cars that were entering the hotel grounds. While I was running around, I found myself chasing down this gorgeous little number. This marks only the second time I’ve found myself close to a 212, one of the first well-known cars Ferrari produced. This particular car is a 212 Export Berlinetta wearing its original Touring coachwork in a deep, rich burgundy hue with a rather Spartan tan interior, wire wheels, and details that kept my attention for a solid amount of time. It may have been parked among a Lamborghini Aventador, Porsche 918, and a Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona, but the little 212 had absolutely no problem drawing a crowd to itself in front of the Ritz-Carlton. Enjoy the photos.
I’m a sucker for Hudson’s “Step Down” styling and engineering of 1949-1954. These were some of the first American cars to utilize advanced body and chassis manufacturing techniques after the war was over and the effort paid off on the track. In NASCAR’s early days, the Hudsons were almost utterly unstoppable thanks to their design. The body and chassis were a semi-single unit and the floor was placed lower than the frame rails, which enabled passengers to “step down” into the interior (hence the phrase). This saved weight and also lowered the vehicle, improving handling. When paired up with the later “Twin-H-Power” straight-six engine, the later Hornets were unbeatable on the track in their day, dominating the field in the early Fifties, with 27 of 34 Grand National wins in 1952, 22 of 37 in 1953, and 17 of 37 in 1954. Three of these Hudsons were up for auction at the Hollywood Car Auction at Amelia Island, and all three of them sold. The yellow 1949 Commodore convertible sold for $73,000 before buyer’s premium. The two Hornet sedans up for sale were later models (the burgundy is a 1953 model, while the black one was a ’52). The black 1952 sedan sold for $62,000 and the burgundy 1953 sedan sold for $87,500. Enjoy the photos.
Infiniti has been good at keeping itself in the news lately. Last year, when they announced they would reshuffle their naming convention in their model lineup to use the word “Q” across the board, I decried the news as a poor decision which would confuse buyers and damage sales. I’m still not sure if I said the right thing, or the wrong thing. However, at the New York Auto Show last year, I did catch a glimpse of the new Q50, Infiniti’s replacement for the respectable G37 sedan, and took some time with it to see what it was like to sit in. By the time Pebble Beach rolled around, Infiniti was offering this brown 2014 Q50S Hybrid for drives. I eagerly took the keys to see what Infiniti had done with a new platform to fight the BMW 3-Series.
American muscle cars were certainly well represented at the Radnor Hunt Concours late last summer, and this 1965 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray coupe was a straight, well-kept example. Despite packing the base 327ci V8, this black-on-red stunner featured a great assortment of options not often seen on mid-Sixties Corvettes, such as a power antenna, power windows, power brakes, and power steering. The 1965 model also featured four-wheel disc brakes, a first on the Corvette as a standard item. Purchased by a wife for her husband as a 65th birthday present, this gorgeous ‘Vette still looked a million bucks on the grass at Radnor. Enjoy the photos.
The day before the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, the Ritz Carlton on the island opened up their golf course for anyone with an interesting classic to show up and park among their peers across the fairway. While talking to a few people and enjoying the sun-kissed weather, I found a car bathed in enough sunlight to make the world shine. Enter this eye-catching yellow 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396. This happens to be done up exactly how I’d want it on the outside. The sunflower yellow paint was free of faults, and the whole package (with the Magnum 500 wheels and white-letter tires, along with the black stripe and shined up chrome) looked just as smart now as it probably did back in the days of Richard Nixon, Woodstock, and free love. Of course, this car would be happier leaving tire tracks all over Main Street, USA than ferrying drugged up hippies to and from an enormous rock concert, but I bet it would be fun for anyone in the era. I was glad to see one this nice that morning, and my eyes are still stinging from that yellow. Enjoy the photos.
Nick was far too busy photographing a nifty Volkswagen parked at the back of the show to take fair notice of something that was even cooler just next to it. This custom pickup truck is too insane for words. The frame is out of Toyota Pickup, the engine is a Chevrolet LT-1 V8 from the early Nineties, and the interior is completely custom-made, with a No Smoking sign forming the backdrop panel for the radio and a custom instrument panel. Meanwhile, the body is a cream-and-brown 1954 Dodge stepside regular cab, and the entire thing is fitted with an adjustable air suspension. I spoke to some buddies of the owner who said that some passerby snickered and said “What’s this doing here?”, smirking the entire time. In my opinion, the joke is on them–this is one of the coolest customs I’ve ever seen and absolutely belonged in the show. Note some of the more quirky touches, such as the set of ratchet wrenches standing in for a gas pedal and a sculptured middle finger in place of a rear view mirror. All in all, this custom pickup truck at the Festivals of Speed is one of the coolest customs I’ve ever seen. Enjoy the photos.
Mind Over Motor 